Young Justice: Domination
by girlwiththeblackinkpen
Summary: The darkness lingers. And there's still so much to do. /or/ a season 3, of sorts. Ep. 1 - Mourning
1. Mourning

**PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING:**

**Thanks for choosing my fic! Sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice box of complimentary digital cookies. Some few things to note before you start reading.**

**I have put times and dates and used them as page breaks. They read military style, and if you have any problems PM me.**

**I've left out time zones because they take a little too long to figure out accurately for each one, and I'd rather spend more time on each episode then figure out the time zone Gotham is in.**

**Takes place a month or so after the last episode of Young Justice: Invasion takes place.**

**This series will focus on all of the characters. Those who make an appearance in this chapter include Batman, Artemis, Dick, Bart, Cassie, and Tim, with mentions of others.**

**While it will have lots of romantic fluffiness, it is supposed to be a season 3, so it will also have to a lot of action and mystery and hair-tearing cliffhangers like the actual show.**

**I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated.**

**1222 24 July 2016 The Watchtower**

Batman adjusted his tie, and then ran his hand on the wrinkle in his pants. He looked at himself in the bathroom, his dark brown eyes and his very own face blinking back at him. He frowned, and then placed a pair of sunglasses on that he had borrowed from Nightwing. He glanced down at the notecards in his hand, a short, concise farewell he'd put together the night after he had announced the small farewell ceremony at the Watchtower. It had been a lot of work, clearing Wally's parents for zeta-tube transport, and setting up a bunch of tables in the Watchtower had been a hassle, not to mention that deposit he has on that silk tablecloth that Superboy's mutant wolf has been eyeing funny all evening….

He glared down at the cards in his hand again. He squinted at them, frowning, and then promptly dropped it in the trash. He heard a knock on the door, Dinah's soft voice coming through the door.

"Bruce? It's your turn to speak."

Batman nodded to himself, and then opened the door, stepping out of the bathroom.

Bruce steps toward the middle of floor of the room, and clears his throat loudly. The buzzing of soft, hushed conversation dies down immediately.

"Wally, is dead," Batman said flatly, "He is gone. Today, we mourn his happy, care-free, loving spirit, but tomorrow we will have to join together to make for the burden he bared on his shoulder. We must help those closest to him," he nods to where Artemis, Bart, Barry, and Wally's parents are gathered. He cleared his throat, "Good night."

The silence is deafening, and as Batman walked deeper into the crowd, Artemis hugs him, tight and close. Batman patted her on the back, nodding, "It gets better."

**1542 25 July 2016 The Watchtower**

Connor moves the boxes with swift ease, pushing them against the wall at M'gann's command. He hefts the remaining one in the kitchen and puts it down by the dust-covered bed.

The room is bare, the metal walls are dusty and the small pothole that gives M'gann a view of the outside outer space. The door creaks every time he punches in the access code (the date of her induction into the team) but it's only temporary and reminds her of Mount Justice.

"Looks like no one's stayed in here for a while," Connor remarks.

"It's a bit of a fixer-upper," M'gann concedes, "but I'll only be staying here until I find a room mate and a good apartment somewhere near the Hall of Justice."

Connor nods. He twiddles his thumbs for a moment nervously, "Do you maybe want to grab something to eat back on Earth? Something, you know, actually edible other than the gross food in the Watchtower cafeteria?"

**842 28 July 2016 The Watchtower**

Kaldur stood with his arms crossed, looking skeptically at Batman, "Do you really believe that Artemis is ready for missions so soon after the trauma of Wally's…" Kaldur fell silent, unable to complete the sentence.

Batman peered at him, silent for a few moments before speaking, "No. But it will be a good distraction."

"Distraction?" Kaldur asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've seen a lot of heroes – good ones – go bad from losing loved ones," Batman says quietly, "Have her patrol Gotham tonight with Nightwing."

"Batgirl is patrolling tonight with Zatanna," Kaldur says.

Batman nods, "Good."

**1132 28 July 2016 Roof of Wayne Enterprises, Gotham City**

Tigress balanced on the ledge, looking down at Nightwing, "It's quiet… Too quiet."

Nightwing chuckled, and pulled himself up onto the ledge next to her, "Come on, you and I both know Batman just wanted you to stop moping around the Watchtower and get out some more. And before I left, I hacked the patrol schedule, and I found out Zatanna and Batgirl are patrolling tonight too. And you know how they get when they patrol together."

Tigress chuckled dryly, "You're not a sugar coater, are you?"

Nightwing grinned, and then turned back to the dark, smog-filled skies. He grinned, holding his arms up and sarcastically saying, "Aren't those stars beautiful?"

Tigress giggled, and turned back to him, "So you and Zee still going strong?"

A thick silence settles in between them, and then Nightwing sighs, "No. We broke up, and I heard she has some new boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Tigress asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"A big, bad lawyer that she met in New York," Nightwing said in a mock cheery voice.

Tigress rolled her eyes at his self-pitying tone, "Every girl knows lawyers are sharks. She's probably just having a fling."

Nightwing laughed, but then his laughter quickly died down, "Yeah… Sure."

"Did you spy on them?" Tigress asked, narrowing her eyes.

Nightwing shrugged, "You can't prove anything."

"Jesus Christ, Dick," Tigress said, jumping from the ledge. She landed lithely on the ground below, and then turned to face him, adding over her shoulder, "You coming, lover boy?"

Nightwing sat for a moment before jumping down, grinning, "Hey! You're not supposed to use civilian names in public!"

**1802 2 August 2016 Artemis and Wally's Flat, Palo Alto**

_ "…This is Cat Grant here on the scene of a robbery where two armed and masked men have broken into a bank here on 4__th__ and 6__th__ street. Civilians are advised to- I believe that… Yes! It's the Flash! And his partner Kid Flash! It seems the chaos is quickly being subdued. Police have already arrived on the scene but have had trouble because of the potential hostage situation. It seems that the Flash has been rejoined with Kid Flash after a long absence from both heroes. Now that the havoc is subdued here, I'll send it back to you, Perd, back at the station._

_ … "Thanks Cat. It's Perd Hapley again, now welcoming you to the six o' clock news broadcast. Next up, after this commercial break, we'll be having an exclusive interview with Lex Luthor-"_

Artemis shut the TV off, and pulled Wally's jacket tight around her body. She let out a long, raking sigh. She turned to the empty kitchen, Nelson snoozing on his dog bed by the back door, and got off the couch. She then paused for a, second, staring at the empty coffee cup on the table. She didn't hesitate before picking it up and angrily hurling it at the wall.

**2108 2 August 2016 The Batcave, Gotham City**

_ "…This is Iris West-Allen, here with a short report on Central City's hero, the Flash. It seems that after a long absence, the Flash's partner Kid Flash has returned and was seen patrolling Central City with the Flash just last night. Also, civilians and police reported that the duo helped prevent a robbery on 4__th__ and 6__th__ street, also freeing hostages held inside the bank. One of the witnesses claimed that the Flash has-"_

Tim shut the TV off, sighing.

"I'm ready!" Cassie's voice called from the bathroom.

Cassie emerged, wearing civilian clothes. A black t-shirt and worn jeans with pink sneakers. She looked like any other girl, and not an Amazonian.

Tim grinned, pecking her on the cheek.

"What did you do while I was gone?" Cassie asked, grabbing her bag.

"I was watching the news," Tim said, "Bart's back in the game. As Kid Flash."

Cassie frowned, "We should probably call Artemis. Make sure she's okay and all."

Tim nodded, "I call Dick and have her check on her or something."

Cassie grinned, "Great. Let's go."

**1713 2 August 2016 Ringo's Diner, Gotham City**

Dick sat across from Artemis in the red, plushy booth, watching her eat her burger with steady ease.

"How is it?" Dick asked, and then he signaled the waitress for a refill on his Coke.

Artemis shrugs, "I've had better."

"Where?" Dick asked, outraged, "This is the holy grail of burgers. The religious holiness that you must worship!"

Artemis raised an eyebrow, "It's just a burger. And I've had better at McDonalds."

"That's blasphemy!" Dick cried.

The other patrons glared at him, and Artemis shook her head, embarrassed.

"Martha! Can you turn the news up!" a man said from the counter.

_"… In other news, Kid Flash and Flash were able to successfully stop the robbery two days ago at Central City Locale Bank. Two armed and masked men walked into the bank and …_

Artemis tensed up, her wry smile suddenly dropping off her face. Dick glanced worriedly at her and then signaled for the check. He hastily dropped a couple bills onto the tray and grabbed Artemis's hand and dragged her out of the diner.

Out in the humid night, Dick worriedly watched Artemis as she let out a long, deep sigh.

"You okay?" Dick asked, placing a wavering hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Artemis said, "I'll be okay."

**1321 3 August 2016 The Watchtower**

Since the destruction of Mount Justice, the Justice League had been able to rebuild a new Grotto. The Grotto had started out as a place of contemplation and peace that Kaldur and M'gann had put together some two or three years ago, and had later become a memorial to those fallen during service after Jason Todd's passing.

They decided one of the large, empty rooms on the Watchtower could serve the purpose, and holographic memorandums of Jason Todd, the second Blue Beetle, and Tula were built and placed in the Grotto. Three hours after Wally's death, a hologram of Wally in his Kid Flash costume was placed in the Grotto as well.

Artemis liked to go to the Grotto to sit and think, mostly choosing to sit in the shade of her favorite palm tree with a good book and a mug of M'gann's famous hot chocolate, or she'd stand at the foot of Wally's overwhelming memorial, not quite thinking anything and just staring at Wally's face. She's usually alone, and as she walks to the Grotto that day, she was surprised to find the room was occupied already.

And the occupant was crying.

Loud sobs racking off the walls and echoing against the metal sides of the Watchtower.

Artemis felt anger swelling up inside of her all of a sudden, her chest feeling hot and tight, "What are you doing?"

Bart looked up, startled from Wally's feet, "W-what?"

"I asked who you're pretending for?" Artemis asked angrily, "I've seen you on T.V. acting perfectly happy when you're off saving people!"

"…Barry told me that the only way that Wally would live on is if…" Bart paused, his throat thick, "I live on and save people for Wally."

Artemis slumped down next to him, silent for a moment with regret, "…That's a heavy burden."

She then chuckles to herself dryly, "And that's a lot of food you have to eat."

"…I could've have saved him," Bart croaks, disturbing the thick and hanging silence.

"No," Artemis says automatically, "You probably couldn't have. Nobody could have."

Outside, Blue Beetle pauses, listening to the snippets of conversation between his best friend and friend. The scarab stirs, and Blue Beetle frowns.

_"In actuality, the formerly known as Impulse could have saved the Kid Flash. Still can, actually, based on my current research into the problem."_

-end episode 1-


	2. Hallucination

**Ep. 2: Hallucination**

**Thank you to all the people who reviewed! You are the best!**

**Thanks to all those who followed my story – I appreciate it **

**Thanks to all those who favorite – I love you all!**

**And thanks to those who gave my story a chance, I really hope you like it.**

**642 4 August 2016 West-Allen Residence, Central City**

Bart pulls on his shoes, sighing heavily as he does so. He ties them tight, and then adjusts his goggles over his eyes, and running a hand through his hair. His eyes glint a little, and then his gaze falls upon a picture of Wally and Barry. Barry is pressing a noogie into Wally's head, and Wally is laughing, his eyes facing the camera. Bart promptly puts the frame face-down. He doesn't want to look at it anymore.

He pulls the door open, and slowly closes it behind him, not wanting to wake up Iris or Barry. He jogs at a regular, snail-like pace until he reaches the alleyway where the Zeta-tube is. He zetas to some emergency safety spot in the middle of nowhere, and he takes off running. Colors and sounds blur into one, and he can almost see the trail of color he's leaving behind. He's running at the speed of light.

He suddenly feels a presence in the little vortex of speed he's created, like something had tapped his shoulder or reached out for him. It's hard to describe, but he _feels _something there. He stops, and turns, looking for the familiar streak of red or color that would mean another speedster had been following him.

There was nothing. He was alone.

**1812 4 August 2016 Harper Residence, Star City**

"Really," Jade drawls, dangling her legs over the table as she nurses a bottle to a squirming Lian, "I don't understand why we have to live in Star City. Gotham is perfectly fine."

Roy rolls his eyes and pauses his channel-surfing on a rerun of The Big Bang Theory. That was Wally's favorite show. He shuts the TV off without a thought, turning to his wife and child. He walks toward the table, tickling Lian's face. She gurgles accordingly, beaming up at her father.

"You miss him, don't you?" Jade suddenly says, interrupting Roy's moment.

Roy tenses, and he is silent for a moment, "Yeah."

Jade is silent for a moment, and she brings Lian closer to her, placing the bottle on the table and walking over to the couch. She sits, staring at the ceiling. Lian makes a soft cooing sound, and Roy plops down next to Jade, his arm settling around her.

"I think… we all do," Jade says quietly, in an uncharacteristic soft voice. Roy sighs, and he takes Lian from her arms.

Lian blinks owlishly at her father, "…dada….?"

Roy and Jade both freeze.

"Was that…?"

"I think…."

Roy kisses Lian, and then settles his arm around Jade again, watching with a satisfied look on his face as Jade nudges and praises Lian for her first word.

**2354 4 August 2016 Gotham City**

Artemis balances deftly on the ledge, adjusting her mask into place. She pulls out the bo staff that has become almost a part of her now, and glances at Nightwing who is crouched beside her.

"I'll get the left idiot, and you get the right retard," Nightwing says, and he makes a move to disappear and pull a ninja like usual when Artemis grabs his arm.

Nightwing looks at her, unfazed, "What?"

"Don't you pull a ninja on me. I'll kill you if you leave me here without back-up," Tigress hisses.

Nightwing rolls his eyes, but stays put, and waits for Tigress's nod that she's ready to execute the plan. She makes the tiniest of nods, and Nightwing swings down, and she trails behind her. Nightwing aims a kick at the head of the left one. Lefty crumples. He turns to see how Tigress is doing. Tigress aims kick after kick but Righty is dodging them well. He watches, suspicious, as Righty continually reaches for something at his right hip, but having to dodge Tigress's kicks, Righty isn't able to get a good grip on whatever it is. Tigress hesitates for a fraction of a second, becoming fatigued, and Righty takes his shot.

He pulls at a gun, and Dick's blood goes cold.

Righty raises the gun, and Tigress's eyes narrow. Righty's finger presses down on the trigger…. Dick kicks him, and the gun goes off. It hits the brick wall right behind Artemis. Righty crumples to the floor, unconscious. Dick kicks the gun away, and swiftly handcuffs both of them to a nearby drain pipe. Artemis is breathing hard, the adrenaline slowly wearing off.

"Thanks," Artemis manages to breath out.

Dick nods, "Let's go."

**143 6 August 2016 Keystone City**

Jay can't sleep. He turns over, looks at Joan, who is slumbering soundly. He turns again, and Joan wakes up, agitated.

"Jay…?" she says sleepily.

"I can't sleep," Jay confesses. Joan caresses Jay's cheek, and Jay smiles into her touch.

"Why don't you go for a run. I'll wait here for you," Joan says quietly.

Jay nods, sliding out of bed. He pads down the stares and he stares at one of the photos on the table. It's a Flash-family portrait, taken seven years ago. Barry is grinning cheekily at the camera in his super-suit, Jay smiling in his own costume. Wally beams in his yellow Kid Flash uniform, a toothy grin. Jay sighs heavily.

He runs, and he hasn't run for so long that the feeling is new and foreign.

And suddenly, very, very, very, _very, _faintly, he hears it.

Wally's voice, "….Jay…."

He freezes. No one is there around him, he's in the just-harvested corn field, and he's alone. All alone.

Perhaps it was just an hallucination.

**1323 10 August 2016 Gotham City**

Joker laughs wickedly, "Oh, my, the pretty bird have brought me _gifts!"_

"Oh, sugar! You will share, won't you?" Harley Quinn asks, blinking at Joker as she runs a finger down his chest.

"Of course, sweetheart," Joker says, "What fun are toys if you play with them by yourself?"

Harley giggles, "Fun!"

Batman growls, throwing a batarang Harley's way.

Harley ducks, and waves a finger his way, "Now, now, Batsy, don't be jealous."

Ivy arrives on the scene with a loud bang, "Did you guys start the party without me?"

"Ooooo! Hi bestie!" Harley purrs.

"These people are insane," Superboy says, watching as Ivy makes thick vines rise out of the ground, slowly wrapping them around his ankles. Connor pulls his feet out without a thought, but Ivy only makes them wrap around his ankles and crawl up his calves. He starts to panic, but Wonder Woman swoops in, pulling him out of the vines. Connor nods his thanks.

Miss Martian telepathically lifts Tigress into the air, and Tigress swings her bo staff in a fast circular motion, refracting Joker's containers of Joker venom. The containers hiss, and release around the Joker, forming a large cloud of green venom. Batman pulls a handful of rebreathers out, and throws them to each of the heroes. Nightwings puts his into his mouth, and then kicks Harley in the stomach. Joker, coughing, rises up from the cloud of dust, pulling out a knife.

Joker huffs heavily, "…I just wanted to…muhahahaha….carve my pretty birdie. Or cut my little pet bat." He stumbles forward, laughing heavily, and coughs. He falls, from the heavy dosage of nearly four person's worth of Joker venom, and Harley gasps, shaking Joker's shoulders.

"Honeypie!" Harley screeches. Kaldur promptly aims a water whip at her, knocking her out atop the Joker.

Ivy growls at them, and disappears into the sewers. "I've got it," Batman says, running after her. Leaving Nightwing, Aqualad, Tigress, Superboy, Miss Martian, and Wonder Woman behind.

"Should we follow him?" Miss Martian asks, tugging on a strand of her hair.

Wonder Woman shrugs, "Up to you guys. But I'm hitting the showers. See you at the Watchtower."

The former members of Young Justice look at each other, grinning widely and laughing.

Artemis then tenses, "…Wally would've wanted to be here."

The grins fall off everybody's faces, and they look down, feeling guilty for laughing when one of their closest friends are… gone. And the silence and thick depression sets in again.

**1735 12 August 2016 El Paso**

"…Er… Hey… Batman… Wazzup my ese?" Jaime tries, "No, that will never work."

He continues muttering to himself, trying to practice ways to break the possibility of Wally's survival as he walks home. He probably should've told him as soon as he had been told by the scarab, but his mother had forced him to spend time his family seeing as he had been off on those, "silly missions with his friends."

Jaime didn't bother to correct her, but his mother could cuss out a sailor and getting her all riled up to deliver news that might not even be true would not bode well for him. So he waited. Besides, he'll be going to the Watchtower tomorrow for training and the past week's crime analysis debriefing.

The scarab stirred suddenly, sensing a prescence.

_I sense an entity in the area. Perhaps we should make haste towards the 'home.'_

Jaime had an uneasy feeling in his gut as well, so he quickened his pace without argument. A dark figure approached him, attacking him from behind. Jaime falls to ground, crumpling.

Jaime vaguely hears the scarab's voice before the world fades to darkness.

_Sending emergency signal…. Watchtower, this is Blue Beetle. Send help immediately, Jaime has been knocked unconcio-_

_***emergency back-up protocol initiated.***_

__"Blue Beetle has been taken out, along with the scarab. I'll get into the Watchtower later and erase the emergency signal. Arsenal, out."

**Notes:**

**The emergency protocol in the scarab is purely hypothetical. I'm just guessing that the scarab would have some sort of back-up plan if someone was able to knock it out…**

**Tigress has a bo staff, I assume.**

**Joker and Harley Quinn have a little something-something, right? And I tried my best to do their character and speaking style to my best ability, but I'm a freshmen in high school, so please don't kill me if their too out of it. I tried my best…**

**I'd appreciate that if you spot any inconsistencies you report them to me by PM or review.**

**If there are any typos, I apologize in advance and also for the late update. The original idea was to post every Saturday, but I got really caught up with a lot of summer assignment work… :/ AP Biology sucks.**

**Thank you so much for reading.**


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